The Haunting
by NeoNimbus
Summary: Part of the Newcomer universe. When rumors spread of strange activities in an abandoned mansion, Brian and his friends decided to investigate to find out if the rumors are really true.


**Hello fellow readers! This is NeoNimbus with another story for The Amazing World of Gumball! Even though it's related to The Newcomer, it's the first holiday-themed story I have ever done (though I waited until it was the right time), so that Sal and I could write this story up just in time for Halloween.**

**That said; I hope everyone enjoys reading this story.**

**The Haunting**

_An Amazing World of Gumball Story_

By NeoNimbus

It was just another afternoon at Elmore Junior High, as Brian, Mike and the Watterson siblings were having lunch in the school cafeteria at their usual spot. Their day, however, was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Carrie, having teleported herself right at their table, startling the five in the process.

"I can't even eat a sandwich without something sounding like an explosion." Mike mumbled.

"Sorry about that." Carrie apologized, as she rubbed her head sheepishly. "I was just wondering if any of you guys have plans for Halloween."

Brian looked back at his friends, who responded by simply shrugging their shoulders, before turning his attention back to the ghost.

"We've got nothing." Brian admitted. "Unless you have something in mind, Carrie."

"Have you heard the rumors of the Malerian mansion?"

"Malerian what?" asked Brian, having no idea what the ghost was talking about.

"It's an old abandoned mansion on the just outside of town. They say it's extremely haunted." Carrie said with spookiness.

"Haunted?" Gumball and Darwin asked simultaneously, as they hugged each other with a look of terror on their faces.

"That sounds like fun." Mike said to Brian with a grin.

"I don't know Carrie..." Anais began. "Don't you remember what happened last Halloween?"

"This time is more controlled. You only need to show up."

"Well...I guess that's alright." said the child prodigy.

"We might as well go see it." Mike said. "It'll probably be eighty times better than any haunted house in a hundred miles."

"But what the plan if something bad happens?" asked Gumball.

"Run for the door as fast as you can and don't look back." Anais answered.

"But what if the door gets locked before we could get out?" asked Darwin.

"Jump out a window." an annoyed Mike replied. "And if that doesn't work: jump through it."

"You know, I think Darwin and I just realized we have to, um, finish our homework." Gumball feverishly said.

"Yeah, do some homework." Darwin quickly added.

"You haven't done homework since I've met you!" Brian retorted, calling their lies out.

Both Gumball and Darwin looked at one another, clearly nervous and dismay that their excuses didn't work at the slightest. But before the two could offer their friend an explanation, a certain antlered peanut, along with a blue humanoid, suddenly showed up out of nowhere.

"Sorry to be rude, but are we interrupting anything?" asked a curious Penny.

"We're trying to drag Gumball and Darwin to a haunted house." Carrie explained.

"What haunted house?" Rachel asked the ghost, as she suddenly became curious of the subject.

"The Malerian house apparently." Brian answered.

"Oh yeah, now I remember..." Rachel began. "I heard rumors that it was haunted or something."

"I'm not so sure if those rumors are even true." Penny commented, before turning her attention to Carrie. "Is it alright if we came?"

"Sure! It might help us get Gumball and Darwin to man up and go into the house." Mike joked.

"What are you talking about Mike? Of course we'll go." Gumball suddenly spoke with confidence.

"Yeah, if Rachel's going, I'm going too." Darwin insisted.

"There's that fake courage I've come to know and love." Mike continued to embarrass the two in front of the people they've fallen for.

"Don't worry too much of Mike's remark. It's good to know that you and Darwin are coming with us." Penny happily said.

"So where is the house exactly?" Anais asked. "Do you have an address?"

"The mansion is all the way in the outskirts of this town." Carrie replied. "Plus, I know the way to the area."

"Then we'll all meet at Carrie's around... seven?" Brian asked.

"Sure, that sounds like a plan." Gumball replied, as he and everyone else nodded their heads in agreement on what to do this evening.

* * *

**Several hours later…**

Evening has finally arrived, as the sun slowly settled down and made way for the moon to take its place. Shortly after school, Brian made his way to Elmore Academy and informed Rhonda of Malerian Mansion and his plans of going to the place with a group of friends. Intrigued by this, the mouse asked her boyfriend if she could tag along, to which the purple fox agreed, as the two decided to hang out at his place until night came around the corner, just in time for them to make their way to Carrie's house.

"I'm so glad that you want to check out this mansion." Brian said to Rhonda.

"I'm happy that you told me about this." said the mouse. "Besides, I'm very curious whether the rumors about that mansion are true or not."

"I guess we'll have to find out then." the purple fox stated.

In the middle of their conversation, the two finally arrived at the ghost's place, as they saw their friends sitting on the porch, apparently waiting for their arrival for quite some time.

"Right on time, Brian," Mike said from the porch. "Now that we're all in attendance, let's get this show on the row!"

"Well it's about time!" Gumball exclaimed. "I was starting to feel cramps in my legs."

"Yeah, because sitting on the grass is so difficult." Mike retorted.

"This is no time for arguments." Darwin scolded both his brother and the maroon badger.

"Carrie, lead the way." Penny spoke up.

The ghost nodded her head in agreement, as she soon lead the group to their destination.

* * *

One whole hour had passed since they left Carrie's house, trekking towards the edge of town on their way to the Malerian Mansion, going through a wood land nature trail and over an abandoned bridge, but eventually, the group finally found the mansion that they were looking for, with the entire structure having a gothic-like theme to it that had since seen better days.

"Wow, that place must be over one hundred years old." Brian remarked.

"Who's the architect? Bram Stroker?" Mike asked, as he held one of the four flashlights the group brought with them.

"Yeah the path was creepy enough with just the owls but this..." Penny spoke as she turned around briefly to look back into the dark woods. "This takes the cake."

"That's a pretty big cake." Rhonda added.

"Well it's too late to turn around. Plus, it looks like a storm is heading our way." Carrie informed the group.

"Then it looks like we'll have to hunker down here for a while." Brian said as he looked to the sky.

Everyone agreed with Brian on that last statement, as they quickly made their way towards the mansion. Upon arrival, Gumball walked up and pulled on the door handle to see that it was unlocked, much to his surprise.

"Alright, that was pretty strange." he remarked.

"Can we get in before lightning strikes us down?" Rhonda asked as it started to rain.

"Oh yeah, my bad." Gumball apologized, as he and the rest of his friends went inside.

"Well our parents are gonna be flipping out when they find out that a storm's come to town and we're not home." Rachel spoke as she and Darwin closed the door.

"We've got a lot of explaining to do when the storm dies down." Mike informed the group.

The children then get a good look at the interior of the mansion: A rundown, dark, dank place that matched the outside. The only sources of light where their flashlights and the occasional thunderbolts every now and then.

"Why do the places we go end up like this?" Darwin fearfully asked his friends.

"Who knows?" Carrie responded. "We may end up finding out tonight."

"That's not very reassuring." Darwin plainly said.

"But it makes it all the more fitting." Mike commented.

In the midst of their conversation, Darwin suddenly felt his body shivered for no reason, before he turned around and saw what he thought was a pair of eerie, glowing yellow eyes staring at him from a cracked wall, causing to yelp in horror, earning the attention of his friends.

"Darwin, what's wrong?" asked Gumball.

"I think I saw something behind the walls!" the two-legged fish responded, as he panicky pointing his flipper at his direction.

Mike pointed the flashlight in the direction of the eyes to see only a rat.

"Darwin, you need to do a double take before you jump to conclusion." Brian scolded his friend.

"Looks like we gotta skeptic here." Mike joked.

"Well, I prefer to see the evidence first before I believe it." Brian responded.

"Well let's see what we can find." Rhonda said cheerfully.

"Let's not and say we did." Gumball grumbled.

"Don't be like that, Gumball..." Carrie began. "Just try to have fun while we're here."

As the group began to quiet down, the sounds of the storm outside were the only thing prominent as they walked into the foyer.

"I have to admit, this place looks a lot bigger from the inside compare to the outside." Penny commented.

"Well we only saw the front." Rachel pointed out.

"I'm just amazed that this building didn't crumble down under its weight." Anais stated.

"Stone buildings were made to last," Mike explained as he tapped the stone walls. "This one is no exception."

"Well we may be able to find out if we did a little exploring." Rhonda suggested.

"I suggest we should split up into groups and-" was all Anais could say, before Gumball suddenly spoke up.

"Wait a minute! Split up?! Are you serious?!"

"It's a four story mansion. It'll take all night for us to explore it together." Carrie reasoned.

"But what if we run into something scary?" Darwin fearfully asked his friends.

"We're not splitting up into groups of one, that would be stupid as a few of us would just be walking around in the dark," Mike reasoned. "We'll split up into groups of two or three."

"I still think that's a horrible idea." Gumball flatly said.

"I'll let you pick who you go with." Mike added.

"In that case, I choose Penny and Anais." Gumball quickly said.

"Okay then. Darwin, you're with Rachel; Brian is with Rhonda and I'll go with Carrie.

"At least we got that out of the way." said Brian.

"With four floors we should decide who gets what floor." Carrie reasoned.

"So who's going to take the first floor?" Brian asked no one in particular.

"Well..." Mike began to think.

"Don't worry Mike, Rachel and I got this floor." Darwin spoke up.

"I guess my group can take the second floor." Anais suggested.

"Brian and I will take the third floor." Rhonda informed her friends.

"Mike and I will take the top floor then." Carrie noted.

"So it's settled: we'll search the floor were assigned to and regroup back to let the other know what we discover." said Brian.

"Let's see if the rumors were true." Mike said triumphantly.

With that said, the group split up and made their way up to their assigned floors, completely unaware of how their night was going to turn out for them.

* * *

Darwin and Rachel are in the hallway on the first floor, the latter holding onto a flashlight, as the two looked around and examined several paintings along the way. Each one was creepier then the last, as the eyes seemed to follow their every move, much to their discomfort.

"I don't like this one bit, Rachel." Darwin whispered to the blue humanoid.

"I know. This place just piles on the creepiness." Rachel agreed, as she watched one of the paintings.

As the duo continued walking down the hallway, both were startled by the sound of thunders, causing them to hug each other tightly, before they both saw one painting suddenly becoming alive and coming right after them, much to their horror. The two ran down the hallway, with none of them looking back, before running into a bedroom, much to their relief.

"D-do you t-think this p-place is safe?" asked Darwin, as he and Rachel closed the door behind them.

"I-I don't know..." Rachel said as she and Darwin held each other with their backs against the door.

As the two clung onto each other, they could hear what appeared to be footsteps, each step getting much closer and louder.

* * *

Gumball felt quite lucky having Penny to be with him, along with Anais, as the three began to roam and checked the second floor. Although he wanted to be just him and Penny alone, he didn't mind his sister's company for a change, knowing full well her intelligence would help them get out of any situation they might have encounter along the way. Right now, he just wanted to impress the antlered peanut, no matter what.

"So Penny, do you need me at your side when things get scary?" Gumball asked, trying to sound as brave as he can.

_'Oh brother.' _Anais thought, as she rolled her eyes in response.

"Well it is nice to have people around me I trust." Penny responded.

"That's...great to hear." Gumball said, his face slightly blushing in response.

_'Where's Mike when you need him?_' Anais thought to herself.

As the group continued to wander around, the trio suddenly heard a slight creaking noise, causing them to stop dead in their tracks.

"Did you hear that?" Penny asked.

"I-it was just the floorboards." Gumball replied, a little on the startled side.

Suddenly, the creaking noise becomes much louder than usual, causing the group to become more frightened than ever. But just as suddenly as it happened, the creaking noise stopped altogether and all was silent in the hallway.

"That...was...completely...spooky." Anais uttered breathlessly.

Suddenly they heard a murmur that none of them could understand.

"W-who's doing that?" asked Gumball.

Before anyone could figure what was going on, the murmur disappeared and leaves them in an uncomfortable silence.

"I suggest we keep moving and meet up with the rest of the group as quickly as we could." Penny informed her friends.

"Agreed." Gumball and Anais said in unison.

With that, the trio resumed wandering the hallway, walking much faster than usual; all the while a pair of glowing yellow eyes is watching them.

* * *

The third floor on the Malerian Mansion was quite unsettling for Brian and Rhonda, as the two began to wander around, ignoring the dust that has been collected over the years, using the flashlight as their only main source of light.

"So Rhonda, do you ever have that have sinking feeling that something bad is about to happen?" Brian asked his girlfriend.

"Honestly, I'm not so sure." the mouse replied. "All I know is that this place is a bit cold up here. Not to mention dusty."

"Well who knows how long it's been since this place had heat." Brian commented.

"As soon as we're done here, I just want to head back down to the main lobby." said Rhonda.

"Me too...I don't think we're gonna find anything really special here."

As the two continued to resume roaming around the hallway, the two stopped dead in their tracks when they heard the wailing screams of a young woman, prompting them to immediately cling to each other in fear.

"What was that?!" Brian asked shaken.

"I don't know!" Rhonda fearfully responded. "And I don't want to find out!"

"Let's keep moving then Rhonda! The sooner, the better!" Brian suggested.

Both the fox and the mouse were visibly shaken by the scream and quickly moved with much more speed than before.

* * *

The fourth floor of the mansion was surprisingly the least damaged of the area, but nevertheless, it was still a gloomy and depressing place to be in due to its current dilapidated state. As much as either Mike or Carrie wanted to leave right away, they both agreed to check the area out for anything that was off before regrouping back with their friends.

"Man this place is creepy," Mike said as he analyzed one of the paintings. "I'm starting to think one might pop out of its frame and attack me." He said as he looked to Carrie floating a little down the hall.

"I've seen a lot worse than this." Carrie casually commented.

"I bet." Mike said as he looked back at the painting to see that what was once there was no longer there.

"What's wrong?" the ghost asked the maroon badger.

"I could have sworn that there was a painting over here just a minute ago." Mike replied.

"Are you sure?" Carrie asked.

"Carrie, I may not be all there but I'm not delusional."

"...Right." was all the ghost could say, uncertain what else to say.

Mike looked back at the space to see that the painting was back again as if it never moved.

_'Either my eyes are playing tricks on me or is this stupid storm.'_ the maroon badger thought to himself, before he walked away from the painting and went to catch up with Carrie so they both don't get separated.

"I'll have to be honest Mike, this place is kind of creepy." the ghost confided to her friend.

"If you find this place creepy, how should I find it?" Mike remarked.

"Anyway..." Carrie suddenly said, quickly changing the subject. "Let's check the other rooms before meeting up with everyone back at the lobby."

"It's funny." Mike said. "I haven't heard a single thing from anyone. You'd think we'd at least hear someone in the house."

"Don't get your hopes so high." a voice of an older man spoke out of the blue, shocking the two kids dead in their tracks, as the two turned in the voices direction to see nothing there.

"W-what was that?" Carrie fearfully asked.

"I-I don't know." Mike replied, as he scanned the flashlight around the room. Undaunted by this, he began to check the other room and found nothing and soon, one by one, the maroon badger checked each room, hoping to find the source of the voice, but after several minutes, both he and Carrie are unable to find the person that mysteriously spoke.

"Looking for something?" Mike heard a male whisper by his ear, causing him to jolt and turn in the direction of the whisper. But as soon as he turned around, he found nothing but the lone hallway and the sound of thunder from the outside.

"I'm going insane." Mike mumbled.

"Let's just get this over and meet up with our friends." Carrie suggested.

"R-right," Mike agreed, as he and Carrie walked downstairs, having already seen enough from the fourth floor.

* * *

Both Carrie and Mike were glad to get out of the fourth floor as soon as they can, hoping that whoever, or whatever, was with them didn't decided to follow them when it felt like it. But upon coming down to the foyer, however, the two were greeted by their friends, all of them having a look of fright on their faces and their bodies shaken with fright, as if they all have faced something traumatic along the way.

"We're doomed." Mike said bluntly.

"That's quite an understatement." Brian remarked, being the first to speak from the group.

"So let's hear it." Mike said with a sigh. "What happened?"

Everyone took a deep breath before they gave their own account of their experience; Darwin and Rachel were the first to talk, claiming that one of the paintings came alive and attempted to come after them, before they both hid in a bedroom and waited patiently for the mysterious entity to pass by them. Next were Gumball, Anais and Penny, as the three told both the maroon badger and the young ghost of creaking noises suddenly popping up out of nowhere and disappearing just as it suddenly appeared. Finally, Brian and Rhonda explained of a wailing of a young woman, both not wanting to find out if what they heard was real or not. Upon listening to their story, Mike finally spoke up in response to their claims.

"Well there's your problem; we're all scared witless."

"I don't know if that's the case, Mike." Darwin disagreed with his friend. "I think something sinister is lurking around here."

"I do feel an unsettling presence." Carrie admitted. "Something doesn't want us here."

"Whatever it is, I don't like it one bit." Rhonda outright stated to the group.

"Well we're stuck here." Mike responded, as a flash of lightning and a crash of thunder came from outside. "So whether the dead inhabits of this house like it or not we're staying until we can leave safely."

"Then I suggest you keep one eye open if anyone of you plan to sleep here." the Voice spoke out of nowhere.

"Ugh, this joker." Mike face palmed, now more annoyed then terrified. Though everyone else, minus Carrie, were practically shaking.

"W-who was that?" Gumball asked the maroon badger.

"I don't know." Mike said simply.

"H-he sounds r-really creepy." Penny fearfully commented.

"Whoever he is, he's starting to get on my nerves." said an annoyed Carrie.

"Besides it's not like we can go anywhere." Mike said as another flash of lightning flew across the sky.

"Tell that to the creepy voice!" a fearful Darwin exclaimed, before something dawned on to the maroon badger.

"Carrie, can't you see the ghosts?"

"I can Mike, but this place is quite old and sensing the ghosts who inhabits this place is going to be difficult to track."

"We might as well stick together." Brian suggested.

"Sounds like a good plan." Rhonda agreed

"Then let's go!" Mike exclaimed as he motioned for the others to follow.

With that, the entire group left the foyer and up the second floor, all the while praying that they don't encounter who or what, inhabited the mansion, as well as waiting for dawn to break out.

* * *

"I wonder how our parents are doing right now." Rachel spoke.

"They're probably worried sick." Penny added.

"In this weather..." Mike began. "I wouldn't blame them."

"Mom's gonna kill us." Gumball mumbled.

"I think we should be more worried of the occupants in this mansion." Brian reminded his friends.

Suddenly and without warning, Brian heard a whisper with his own ears.

_"...let me have it..."_

Startled by this, the purple fox stopped dead in his tracks, prompting his friends to do the same, before Gumball spoke up, confused by his friend's action.

"What's wrong, Brian?"

"Did you guys hear that?"

"Hear what?" Darwin asked.

"I didn't hear anything." said Anais.

"What did you hear, Brain?" Rhonda asked.

"It was barely audible, but all I heard was 'let me have it'." Brian replied to his girlfriend.

"Maybe the voice wants the flashlight." Mike explained as he pointed to Brian's flashlight.

"You're kidding, right?" Gumball flatly asked.

"Who knows?" Mike responded, shrugging his shoulder. "He could want Brian's soul for all I know."

"You're not helping." Brian scolded the maroon badger.

"Well it's not like you're go-what the hey?" Mike was interrupted when he suddenly felt something being thrown at his shoe.

"What's wrong, Mike?" asked Carrie.

"What just hit me?" Mike said as he scanned the floor with his flashlight.

"Whatever it was, it's gone now." said Penny.

"I vote we keep moving." Rachel suggested.

"Seconded." Anais agreed.

With that said, the group continued to move forward, as a pair of glowing yellow eyes continued to spy them from behind the wall, before disappearing out of sight.

* * *

After receiving no more further paranormal activity from the second floor, aside from a few rats scurrying within the walls, the group of children finally decided to head back to the first floor, hoping that who or what was down there was gone for good.

"Well, I guess the coast clear." Darwin commented.

"So now what do we do?" Gumball asked. "It's still a thunderstorm out there."

"Honestly, I don't know." Mike admitted to the blue feline.

"Guys..." Brian began. "I don't feel well..."

"Brian, are you alright?" asked a concerned Rhonda, before her boyfriend suddenly collapsed to the floor, much to everyone's horror.

"The ghosts must be sapping his energy to use as their own." Carrie spoke.

"Is he..." was all Darwin could say, before he found himself cut off by the young ghost.

"Don't worry, Darwin. Brian's is simply unconscious."

Suddenly loud banging could be heard.

"This thunderstorm keeps getting worse." Penny commented.

"I don't think that was the storm." Gumball corrected the antlered peanut, shaken by the noises.

"Sounds like it came from the basement." Mike deduced.

"Please tell me where not going down there to investigate the noise." Darwin pleaded, as his entire body began to grow stiff and suddenly gone pale with fear.

"Great idea, Darwin!" Mike said cheerfully.

"No! Not great idea!" Darwin bluntly retorted.

"Then you can stay up here with Rhonda and guard Brian."

"You know, that's a good idea." Darwin agreed, relieved that he didn't have to go down the basement.

"Now who else will stay with Brian?" Carrie asked.

In response, everyone shook their head, as the young ghost sighed in disappointment by their action, before she turned her attention to Mike.

"I guess it's just you and me then." Mike took a deep breath, before speaking once more.

"Be safe everyone."

"Be careful down there." Gumball warned the maroon badger.

Mike nodded his head, before opening the door to the basement.

"Let's go, Carrie."

"I'm right behind you." the young ghost informed the maroon badger.

As Mike walked down the stairs with Carrie floating behind him, the group looked back at the unconscious Brian laid on Rhonda's legs.

"I hope he wakes up." said Anais.

"Me too." Rhonda stated

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, before they carried Brian into the study hall, each taking a seat and waiting patiently for the purple fox to wake up.

* * *

Just like the rest of the floors, the basement was just in bad condition, if not worse. It looked as if this place was falling into pieces, as several rotten bricks scattered across the floor, with some area heavily filled with cobwebs and pipes that are now worn out and rusty. In spite of all of this, though, Mike and Carrie proceeded to investigate the basement, determined to find out the exact origin of what the explosion came from.

"Ugh, this place gives me the creeps." the young ghost commented.

The scene cuts to the basement, as Mike used his flashlight to wander the dark and empty room, with Carrie by his side.

"Ugh, this place gives me the creeps." the young ghost commented.

"Not a good sign to be sure." Mike quietly agreed.

Suddenly, another noise could be heard in the basement, this time sounding like glass shattering.

"W-where did that c-come from?" Carrie fearfully asked Mike.

"I-I don't know." Mike said as he walked carefully in the direction of the noise. He walked to the entrance of a room and shined his flashlight in. "Is that you making all that noise." Suddenly and without warning, a huge brick took off and flew across the room right in the view of Mike, scaring the daylights out of him.

"Don't worry, I got you!" Carrie then grabbed the maroon badger and quickly teleported both herself and Mike out of harm's way, as the huge brick slammed to the wall very hard, shattering into pieces, before Carrie, along with Mike, teleported back in the exact same spot, the latter safe and unharmed from what would have been a fatal injury.

"Mike, are you alright?"

Mike didn't answer the young ghost's question right away; instead, he wasted no time running away, screaming as he wanted nothing to do with being down there.

"You're welcome." Carrie called out the maroon badger, somewhat annoyed by his reaction, before quickly following him out of the basement.

* * *

Mike didn't know how long he was running, but he didn't care for times right now, as the maroon badger was finally making his way to the entrance, making his way to the final step, before stopping dead in his tracks, trying to catch his breath from the worst experience of his life.

"That was...the most...frightening...experience I...ever had."

"A thank you would have been nice." Carrie said as she caught up.

"Sorry."

"It's cool." said the young ghost. "I'll have to admit, that was crazy back there."

Mike chuckled as he looked at the event in retrospect.

"I definitely didn't expect that."

"But Mike you've got to be more careful."

"I'll keep that in mind, Carrie."

"You could've been killed!"

"...You're right. I'm almost got myself killed back there. Thanks for saving my life." Mike thanked Carrie, causing the young ghost to blush.

"D-don't mention it, Mike. I'm just glad I was able to save you on time."

"Looks like I owe you one." the maroon badger's comment caused the young ghost's face to blush even more. Fortunately for her, Mike didn't notice this right away, much to her relief.

"Mike..." Carrie began. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you for a very long time."

"What's that?" asked Mike, as he arched an eyebrow in curiosity.

"When this is all over, I was wondering if we can hang out, just between us."

Mike, even if he was slow on the uptake, got what she meant. But before he could answer the young ghost, the two were suddenly startled by a collection of screams piercing through their ears.

"That came from down there!" Carrie exclaimed, pointing to the direction of said screams.

"We make a choice; go back down and see what it was or leave and not look back." Mike said to Carrie.

"I say we get the flip out of here and I mean now." Carrie quickly suggested.

"Sounds good to me." said Mike, before the two of them fled from the scene as fast as they could, not wanting to take such a big risk facing whatever was coming through the basement.

* * *

It took them quite some time, but thankfully, the two heard faint audible from where they are, as they follow the noise to find that their friends were in the study hall, safe and sound, with Brian still lying on the floor unconscious, before Mike and Carrie quietly closed the doors behind them.

"Mike! Carrie! Thank goodness you two are safe!" Rachel exclaimed.

"What happened back there?" asked a concern Penny.

"Bricks can fly." Mike said simply. "They're also out for blood."

Though confused by his statement, everyone decided it was best not to question him any further about it, considering what they have encounter lately.

"Anyway, how's Brian doing?" Carrie questioned her friends.

"He's still out but he's breathing normally."

"What time is it?" Carrie asked. Rhonda pulled out her cell phone to look.

"Three a.m."

"That was fast." said Mike.

"But that doesn't change the fact that we're trapped here until morning." Gumball pointed out.

"So we only have four hours until the sun rises." Anais commented.

"Ugh... looks that way." Darwin said disgruntled.

"Couldn't agree more." said the Voice, but this time, it was much loud and clearer now, much to the group's discomfort.

"Who said that?" Rachel demanded.

"I did." the Voice replied, as everyone turned and saw that the Voice was speaking through Brian, who somehow, has taken complete control over his body, his eyes giving off an eerie glow, before speaking once more. "Enjoying your stay so far?"

Before either of them could say anything else, the voice suddenly let out an eerie laugh that seemed to echo throughout the mansion.

"Oh great; from poltergeist activity to demonic possession." Mike stated, as he got into a fighting stance. "Could this get any better?"

"I'm glad you asked." The Voice responded, before clapping his paws, causing several demonic-like entities, to suddenly appear out of nowhere, their eyes blazing like fire, as the apparitions gazed down on their terrified victims.

"Thanks Mike, ya jerk." Gumball deadpanned.

"Now's not a good time." Darwin scolded his brother.

"Besides, if I were you, I would...**RUN FOR OUR LIVES!" **Anais shouted at the top of her lungs.

* * *

With those words spoken out loud, the entire group ran back to the foyer as quickly as they can, with the possessed Brian and his cohorts following suits.

"Where do we go now?!" Rhonda yelled, as she and her friends ran out from the study hall, hoping that one of them could offer a solution to their situation.

"Up!" Mike shouted, as everyone immediately ran upstairs for safety. Unfortunately, there were more terrors along the way. Doors were flying open to obstruct or just flat out harm them, objects being thrown at them, from chairs to lamps and paintings were falling off the walls. Some of them were even brought to life, becoming warped versions of their original selves, as they proceeded to chase after the group.

"This is a nightmare made real!" Penny screamed as everyone continued to run.

"Then let's go up to the next floor!" Darwin screamed.

As they ran up the third floor their situation deteriorated even quicker. Now even the floorboards wanted them dead.

"Not cool." Gumball muttered.

"Keep moving or you're dead!" Mike shouted.

Without any hesitation, the entire group immediately made their way to the fourth floor.

With everything that could move trying to harm them, no one could stop running for any reason. But among the confusion, though, Darwin noticed a string above him, prompting him to pull it, revealing a ladder and entrance to the attic.

"Keep moving!" the two-legged fish shouted, as everyone climbed up the ladder one at a time.

One by one, the group made their way to the attic, eventually getting inside, before they lock the entrance and barricade it with every object in the room.

"Wait…can't ghosts faze through solid objects?" Rachel asked.

"Oh crud," Gumball muttered, realizing the blue humanoid made a horrific point, before everyone turned around to see the demonic entities floating before them. But then, Mike turned around to see an opened window just inches away from his group.

"Everyone out the window!" Mike shouted, as everyone immediately ran towards the window, but much to their dismay, the window closed and locked itself.

"We're doomed!" Gumball shouted.

"Sad but true." the Voice agreed with the dismay blue feline, prompting everyone to turn around and saw the possessed Brian behind them.

"What's your deal man?!" Rhonda shouted.

"Yeah, why are you doing this to us?!" Penny demanded.

"Also, why do you sound like some actor from a series of cheesy horror films?" asked Gumball, prompting Mike to bop him on the head, before the Voice spoke through Brian.

"Well, if you kiddies must know, I am Vince Van Who, the owner of this fine and exquisite mansion, or what's left of it."

The moment the Voice identified himself to his would-be victims, the group gasped in surprise; the last thing they ever expected to encounter was the person who once owned the rundown mansion itself.

_'At least the rumors about Malerian Mansion being haunted are true.'_ Carrie thought, before something dawned on the young ghost. "Why are you still haunting this place? More importantly, why are you targeting us to begin with?"

"If you must know, little girl…" Vince began. "I've built this place with my own hands since I move away from that excuse of a town that is Elmore, just so I don't have to be bother by a bunch of nosy neighbors asking me help for the most trivial things. But even in a place as remote as this part of the woods, I ended up being visited by those fools every chance they have. So, in an effort to keep them off from my property and out of my life, I concocted an ancient spell to make sure that I will never be bother ever again. Of course, as you can see, the plan went completely awry and as a result, I ended up being bound to my home for the rest of my eternal life. On the plus side, I can keep nosy trespassers like you off of my property, one way or another."

"That's it?" Mike asked incredulous. "The whole reason you're haunting this mansion and attacking us is just so you can be left alone?"

"That's correct, Captain Obvious!" Vince responded sarcastically, before his expression became quite dark. "Sadly, though, I'm afraid I have to take you and the rest of your friends out."

With those words spoke, Vince raised his arm and points his finger at the entire group, as the apparitions heeded his command and slowly encroached on the frightened kids, as every one of them huddled together, with no one having the slightest clue on how to deal with any of them.

"Guys, what do we do now?" Darwin asked his friends.

"Honestly, I don't know, buddy." Gumball sadly replied. "It's going to take miracle to get us out of this mess."

While the two talked to each other with uncertainty, Carrie noticed what appeared to be an old fashion vacuum cleaner with a built-in electric motor… wait a minute. That's it! There was the solution for their situation.

"Wait, I think I got it. But there's no time for explanation. Just trust me on this one."

The young ghost then focused on Mike and Rachel, before motioning her arm towards the vacuum cleaner, prompting them to quietly nod their heads, before she turned her attention to Vince right away.

"Vince, before you sick your demon pals on us, can we ask you a few questions regarding what you did in your past life?"

"I suppose I could answer a few questions before I send you and your friends off to your doom." the entity replied, as he raised his paw up, prompting his cohorts to relent and stop in their tracks. "Now what is it that any of you want to know?"

"Well, if you must know…" Penny began to talk.

* * *

Before long, Vince began to answer each and every question the kids have to offer, whether it would be his first job, his first crush, among other trivial matters, Mike and Rachel, on the other hand, quietly snuck away from the scene as best as they could, doing their best to avoid alerting either the demonic apparitions or Vince himself, as they slowly approached the vintage vacuum cleaner.

"Are you sure this plan will work, Mike?" Rachel whispered to the maroon badger.

"Honestly, I'm not so sure, Rachel." Mike admitted. "All I do know is that Carrie is giving us enough time to allow us to reach to that vacuum over there so we can at least trap that Vince fellow before he notice what we're up to. The least thing we should do is just trust her"

Nodding her head in agreement, both Rachel and Mike continued to quietly sneak their way to the vacuum cleaner, while Vince was finally done answering the latest question from Anais.

"…And that, child, is why I have collected so many arts throughout my life."

"Wow, that is really fascinating." said Anais, as the child prodigy faked a smile to please him.

"Is there anything else you kids want to ask or do you want me to end this right now?" Vince casually asked, as if the question was nothing. "Seriously, I don't have time for this."

Carrie was about to answer the possessed Brian's question, before Rhonda suddenly spoken, cutting the young ghost off in the process, as the mouse approached the confused entity.

"At least let me do this."

"Do wha-" was all Vince could say, as Rhonda locked her lips at Brian's, giving him one big kiss, much to the shock of her friends. But their shock soon turned into astonishment; somehow, the kiss the mouse gave to the fox had a profound effect, as the apparition was suddenly being expelled from Brian's body, revealing himself to be a dog dressed in 19th century clothes, while Brian himself fainted to the floor.

"What's the meaning of this?! What's going on around here?!"

"Quit complaining and suck it up like a man!" Mike shouted, prompting Vince to turn around and saw the badger, along with the blue humanoid, with an old fashioned vintage vacuum cleaner with them. Before he had a chance to react, however, Rachel turned on the vacuum cleaner, with Mike controlling the tube and pointing at Vince himself, as the ghost could do nothing but scream in despair, being dragged and sucked into the machine, before the blue humanoid quickly shuts down the device, before his cohorts disappeared into nothingness.

"Hold on for just a second." said Gumball, as he made his way to the vacuum cleaner and quickly plugged it up with an old curtain. "Just to make sure that he doesn't try to get out."

"Good idea, Gumball." Mike agreed with the blue feline.

"Ugh…what happen?" Brian asked his friends, as the purple fox was starting to stir from his deep sleep.

"Brian, are you alright?" asked Darwin, as he and his friends approached him with concern.

"I'm fine, Darwin…" the purple fox began." What happened while I was knocked out? Also, why does my lip feel-"

"That's not important!" Rhonda blurted out, her face slightly blushing in embarrassment. "What is important is that you're safe and everything's alright."

"That's a relief." said Brian, before he got up and went to the window. "It looks like the storm is finally gone. Also, I think I saw the sun is rising up."

"Good." said Penny. "I don't want to stay in this place anymore. Let's get out of here right away; the sooner, the better."

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, before heading through the entrance from the attic as quickly as they can.

* * *

"I have to admit, that must have been crazy back there." Brian admitted, while his girlfriend was informing him of the events that have occurred during his brief absence, as them and the entire group slowly descended down to the foyer.

"At least things didn't get worse when it did. I'm just happy that it's all over."

"I swear, I'll never go to another haunted house as long as I'm alive." Gumball spoke out loud for anyone to hear him, just as he and his friends finally made it to the foyer.

"Agreed."

"Now that it's settled…" Darwin began, as he approached the front door. "Let's head back home right away. The last thing we want is our parents…to…show…up…"

Darwin trailed off, his face paled a bit, as the rest of gang approached him with curiosity, before they all turned around and saw their family staring straight at them with a look of disappointment, no doubt that they weren't pleased of their actions.

"All of a sudden, I'm thinking that being in a haunted mansion sounds safer than this." Gumball muttered.

**The End**

**Tidbits**

**-First time doing a holiday-themed story for Gumball. Hopefully, this turns out to be good just in time.**

**-For the voice of Vince Van Who, I imagine Maurice LaMarche, due to his strong impersonation of certain actors, including the late Vincent Price.**

**-I want to thank Sal for his help on this side story.**

**I hope everyone enjoyed The Haunting and I also hope that everyone has a happy Halloween!**


End file.
